Saturday Sidebar: What advice would you give your teenage self?

Saturday Sidebar: What advice would you give your teenage self?

This week’s Saturday Sidebar is a spin on one of the writing prompts from Mama Kat’s Pretty Much World Famous Writer’s Workshop:

“What is one piece of advice you would give your teenage self?”

Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…

Ms. V of South Korea writes:
“That perfection is both impossible and undesirable so spending any time trying to be perfect is a waste of time. Less work, more play!”

Mamma Simona of South Africa writes:
“You’re NOT fat and worthless!! Trust your instincts about people. It’s YOUR life to live; so stop wasting time thinking you’re just ‘not good enough’! You ARE worthy of unconditional love, so be as kind to yourself as you are to others.” (more…)

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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MASSACHUSETTS, USA: What Does Mommy Want to Be When You Grow Up?

MASSACHUSETTS, USA: What Does Mommy Want to Be When You Grow Up?

When I get together with fellow moms these days, I find the greatest thing we have in common is not that we all have kids but that most of us are still trying to figure out who we are now that we HAVE kids.

I think this is because our generation of moms is facing an identity crisis: Torn between the modern women that our foremothers fought so hard to enable us to become and the traditional women society has molded us into being.

A sesquicentennial ago, our foremothers fought to give us a voice in politics with the women’s suffrage movement. Fifty years ago, women struggled to break the academic barrier and make a college education, rather than a wedding ceremony, the social norm after finishing high school. The generation before us sacrificed spending much time with their families, or sometimes having a family at all, in order to prove their value as leaders in the work place.

But what about our generation? What’s our legacy? (more…)

Kyla P'an (Portugal)

Kyla was born in suburban Philadelphia but spent most of her time growing up in New England. She took her first big, solo-trip at age 14, when she traveled to visit a friend on a small Greek island. Since then, travels have included: three months on the European rails, three years studying and working in Japan, and nine months taking the slow route back from Japan to the US when she was done. In addition to her work as Managing Editor of World Moms Network, Kyla is a freelance writer, copy editor, recovering triathlete and occasional blogger. Until recently, she and her husband resided outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where they were raising two spunky kids, two frisky cats, a snail, a fish and a snake. They now live outside of Lisbon, Portugal with two spunky teens and three frisky cats. You can read more about Kyla’s outlook on the world and parenting on her personal blogs, Growing Muses And Muses Where We Go

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GUEST POST: Keeping Your Child Safe from Bullies & Stalkers

GUEST POST: Keeping Your Child Safe from Bullies & Stalkers

How would you keep your child safe from a persistent bully and a stalker?

I was thrilled when Jen asked me to write a post about online safety for kids/teens for World Moms Blog. I have two children, a boy and a girl. But it is my daughter’s story I’d like to begin with. My daughter has been modeling and acting since she was 8 years old and is very pretty, so we’ve been dealing with safety issues both online and off since she was small.

It started with a bus driver one afternoon on the way home from school. He found out it was her birthday, as we were carrying bags of presents. For some odd reason, he wanted to give her his 20-year service pin as a present. We gracefully declined. Over a month later, I was rushing up to the front door of my apartment, and he jumped out of his car and said, “I have a present for your daughter. I haven’t had time to wrap it.” He then proceeded to get the present out of his trunk. (more…)

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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NEW ZEALAND: The Essential Class for Kiwis

NEW ZEALAND: The Essential Class for Kiwis

Having spent seven years reading about how the human brain works, I am very passionate about restricting our boys’  out of school formal activities.  Our ten year-old is only in his second year of playing field hockey and his second year of learning to play the piano. He also chose to learn the Double Bass this year, although I suspect that won’t top his list of things-to-do next year. We haven’t rushed our boys into learning to read (although storytelling and listening to stories are fundamental parts of our day) and we love that they go to a school where homework is limited.

But there is one out of school activity I insist our children participate in for 10 years or more: swimming lessons. (more…)

Karyn Wills

Karyn is a teacher, writer and solo mother to three sons. She lives in the sunny wine region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in the city of Napier.

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